Volusia May Amend Its Impact Fee Law

July 26, 1986|By Rick Tonyan of The Sentinel Staff

DELAND — A month-old Volusia County ordinance that imposes impact fees on new construction to help pay for road work probably will be changed in two weeks to appease city officials who object to the county collecting the fees within city limits.

County administrators and council members Friday said proposed amendments to the ordinance may make it harder to enforce collection of the fees but will end complaints that the county is usurping municipal powers.

As the ordinance now reads, cities are forbidden from issuing building permits for new construction until the builder pays the fees. A city may collect the fee for the county or require a builder to show a receipt from the county before issuing a permit. City leaders say the county should not dictate how they issue city building permits.

The amendments would shift the burden of collection. A builder still is required to pay the fee before starting construction, but a city is not required to check if payment is made. Builders who don't pay risk having their projects stopped and being sued by the county. They also could face a $500 fine and 60 days in jail.

The county would not issue an occupational license to a commercial development unless the fees are paid. The fees also would have to be paid before the county would give a driveway permit to any building that needs to connect to a county road.

Dick Kelton, county director of development and code administration, said he also is working on an arrangement with utility companies to require proof that the fees have been paid before turning power on at a new building.

Unless power companies agree, the amendments will make it more difficult for the county to make sure everyone pays the fees, administrators say. They say the county may start taking copies of municipal building permits and comparing them to receipts for the fees to make sure all developers pay.

Municipal governments could choose to collect the fees for the county in return for a percentage of the money collected. Also, the county is offering use of its computer for cities that want to impose their own impact fees. A city with a local fee would collect both for itself and the county.

County council Chairman Jerry Doliner said the fate of the amendments will be decided when the council meets Aug. 7. He led a team of county negotiators Friday in what amounted to a peace conference with city officials.

Some city leaders say they want to see the amendments approved before they decide how to react. After the council imposed the fees last month, six cities approved ordinances forbidding the collection of road impact fees within their boundaries.

The fees add $705 to the cost of building a home and are supposed to make developers pay the costs of highway improvements needed to serve construction projects.